Former Uganda presidential candidate collapses in church

What you need to know:

  • Retired Democratic Party leader Kawanga Ssemwogerere aged 84
  • The Daily Monitor reported that Mr Ssemwogerere was rushed to Rubaga hospital for medical attention
  • Ssemogerere was the presidential candidate in the disputed 1980 General Election

A former Ugandan presidential candidate caused an anxious moment when he collapsed in church during a Sunday Mass.

Mr Paul Kawanga Ssemogerere, the former Democratic Party (DP) President, collapsed during the Mass at the Rubaga Cathedral in Kampala.

The 86-year-old Ssemogerere was the DP leader for 25 years and one of the main players in Ugandan politics until his retirement in 2005.

Also Read

He was born on February 11, 1932 in Kisubi, Wakiso District in the Central Region of Uganda.

Stable condition

The Daily Monitor reported that Mr Ssemogerere was rushed to Rubaga hospital for medical attention.

Members of his family later said he was in a stable condition, as they waited for doctor's report.

Mr Ssemogerere was the presidential candidate in the disputed 1980 General Election, which were won by Milton Obote.

He was also the presidential candidate for the mainstream opposition in 1996, but lost the election to the incumbent President Yoweri Museveni.

In the headlines